# Telegram API

> Public channel profiles, their posts and single posts, with views, media and reactions.

- **Platform:** [Telegram](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram.md) (t.me)
- **Web page:** https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram

## Overview

Read public Telegram channels the way t.me shows them to anyone with a browser: the channel's name, bio, exact subscriber count and media counts, its posts newest first, and any single post by link. Useful for tracking channel growth, monitoring what competitors and news channels post, and measuring reach per post. Only public channels with the web preview on can be read; groups, bots, private channels and people aren't covered. Media URLs point at Telegram's CDN and expire, so download what you need to keep.

Source: t.me.

## Try it live

Pick an endpoint and run it: real data, no signup, 5 free requests a day.

Live playground: https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram#try

## Endpoints

- [Channel](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/channel.md): A public channel's name, bio, photo, exact subscriber count and media counts. (GET /v1/telegram/channel · 1 credit)
- [Channel posts](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/channel-posts.md): A public channel's latest posts, newest first, with text, views, media, links and reactions. (GET /v1/telegram/channel/posts · 1 credit)
- [Post](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/post.md): One public channel post by link, with text, views, media, links and reactions. (GET /v1/telegram/post · 1 credit)

## Call it

Every endpoint is a `GET` with your key in the `x-api-key` header. For example, [Channel](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/channel.md):

curl:

```bash
curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/telegram/channel?handle=telegram" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

[Get a free API key](https://lurkapi.com/login?next=/dashboard)

## Use it in Claude

Once LurkAPI is [connected to Claude](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#claude), each endpoint is a tool Claude can call:

| Tool | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `telegram_channel` | [Channel](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/channel.md): A public channel's name, bio, photo, exact subscriber count and media counts. |
| `telegram_channel_posts` | [Channel posts](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/channel-posts.md): A public channel's latest posts, newest first, with text, views, media, links and reactions. |
| `telegram_post` | [Post](https://lurkapi.com/docs/telegram/post.md): One public channel post by link, with text, views, media, links and reactions. |